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VE 9-54 E

RARITY: ¤¤¤   VALUE:  ¤¤¤ 

The VE 9-54 was one of Victor's 'super-premium' sets from the late 1920's, and was one of the last machines that was designed and manufactured by Victor prior to their being bought-out by RCA. Along with its 'sister' machine, the VE 9-56, the 9-54 utilized Victor's new second-generation automatic record changer, along with RCA's latest Radiola 64 radio. While the radio provided exceptional performance, the new record changer was problematic, soon resulting in a company-wide recall and upgrade. Even after the recall campaign, these changers were deemed to be rather rough on records, and were expensive to maintain and repair. Consequently, customer acceptance was poor, and the second-generation changer was quietly discontinued within a few months.
When everything was operating correctly, these lavish sets performed magnificently. The imposing, ornate walnut cabinet in a Spanish Renaissance style was a work of art in itself. The two large front doors open to reveal the radio and phonograph controls, along with a large record changer and space to store albums. The door on the lower-right side covered the paper-cone speaker; this door must be left open while listening to the radio or phonograph. The door on the lower-left side was a 'dummy', and could not be opened.
The 9-54 sold new for $1,350.00, which equates to approximately $20,500.00 in today's money.  As a comparison, a new Buick 120 Sedan cost $1,495.00 new in 1928. Obviously the 9-54 was intended to appeal to wealthy customers who wanted the most advanced sound system that was available at the time. Due to the extremely high price and the bad reliability reputation of the record changer, many of these sets remained unsold through 1929, and were later offered at significant discount. 
An estimated total of 2,700 VE 9-54 machines were produced; all were made during the last few months of 1927. Correlating serial numbers to production dates is very difficult on this model. A company-wide recall of the unreliable changer mechanisms was undertaken shortly after the product was introduced. When the changers were upgraded and returned to the owner or dealer, new data plates were issued for the machines, and serial numbers were re-started at s/n 6900. So if your machine has a serial number above 6900, it has the updated changer. If it is prior to 6900, your machine was never sent back to the plant for the necessary recall work. However, many serial numbers were skipped prior to 6900, so it is nearly impossible to confirm the total factory output of this model.

After RCA bought the company in 1929, those unsold machines (and a large quantity of empty cabinets) which remained in inventory were fitted with new and less complicated components, and the VE 9-54 was renamed as the RE-154. Therefore, the production total stated above likely overstates the actual number of 9-54 models which were actually delivered to customers.
While this model is not commonly found today, the cost of restoration of these early and complex radio/phono combination sets may limit the interest of collectors in the current market.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent VE 9-54 to be S/N 627 and the latest to be S/N 8550. Please note the comments above regarding the large 'gap' in serial numbers for this model.

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